


Attachment

by Tox



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 23:39:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18861301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tox/pseuds/Tox
Summary: When Akira doesn't come home one night, Sojiro begins to worry.





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**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure someone's done this before, and probably better than I have, but I wanted to write it anyway. Sojiro and Akira's relationship is very important to me, and I feel like the game may have glossed over Sojiro's reaction to Akira's arrest and "suicide" a bit.

There was a particular window of time wherein Akira usually arrived at Leblanc, ranging anywhere from late afternoon to early evening. Sometimes he would pop in just to change out of his uniform before going back out, usually not arriving home again until well after the last of Sojiro’s customers filed out; other times he went up to the attic and stayed there, or helped Sojiro behind the counter until it was time to close up. Sojiro was well accustomed to Akira’s schedule by November, and even when he could close early if he wanted, he remained - not for customers, but for the chance to say good night to Akira before he left.

It was safe to say he’d become quite attached.

A lot of it had to do with Futaba, but even before then, Sojiro couldn’t deny that he had a soft spot for his quiet young guest. Akira never talked back, even when Sojiro was calling him a delinquent (something he felt deep regret over, even if he couldn’t have known otherwise at the time), and he was always eager to help or even just talk. It was hard _not_ to develop affection for him. Sojiro had so fully expected him to be a _problem_ that he had tried to distance himself from the start, but Akira’s natural magnetism was just too strong.

Of course, Sojiro was still doing his best to be an authority figure. Even with Akira having confessed to being a _Phantom Thief,_ of all things, Sojiro did his best to be the guardian Akira’s parents had expected him to be. He was an accomplice now, but more than that, he was… well, maybe not exactly a _father,_ but something close to it. And he would continue to be that for as long as he could be, as long as he was needed (and maybe even beyond that).

So when Akira didn’t show up around when he usually did on November 19th, Sojiro decided to wait for him, even as the clock ticked past when he would have usually gone home.

At first, it was just the desire to get a chance to say good night. It felt odd, now, to not get the opportunity, and even when Akira was up in the attic, Sojiro made a point of calling up to him - not even to close up, which he only really asked if Akira was still in the cafe, but just to say he was leaving and to get some sleep soon.

As time wore on, Sojiro began to get agitated. His reason for staying turned into needing to lecture Akira - he had freedom at night, but not so much that he could stay out as long as he pleased. He had school, after all… and Tokyo could be dangerous at night.

The longer Akira was gone, the more Sojiro’s annoyance turned to anger, before slowly beginning to morph into anxiety and worry. This was _unusual._ Had something happened? Was Akira in trouble? Maybe he’d gotten mugged, or maybe something had happened with the Phantom Thieves… Sojiro considered asking Futaba, but by the time the thought occurred to him, it was late enough that he expected she’d be asleep. He chided himself for not saying good night to _her,_ but it was hard to focus on that when Akira was still missing.

Maybe he’d stayed over with a friend. That seemed reasonable. Sojiro would have hoped he’d call if that were the case, he knew Akira had his number, but… perhaps he’d simply forgotten. Or been too tired. Or thought Sojiro wouldn’t care (he’d certainly tried to instill that idea for the first several months, hadn’t he?). He tried to convince himself that this was likely the case, but something still seemed wrong. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad had happened.

Reluctantly, Sojiro finally went home. He was sure he’d see Akira in the morning.

He did not.

It was a school day, he reminded himself; Akira had probably gone to school with whoever he’d stayed with. And since he took the cat, Morgana, everywhere, it was reasonable to say they were still together, and Sojiro didn’t need to worry about him not having been dropped off. He’d been in such a hurry to see Akira that he’d gone straight to Leblanc upon waking up, and Futaba was likely still asleep anyway, so Sojiro decided he would just see how things went. He smoked a bit to calm down, then opened up as usual.

Halfway through the day, the news report happened.

Sojiro always paid attention to the news. Even when he told his customers he hadn’t been listening, he was usually lying; he just didn’t want to talk about politics (especially not ones Shido was involved with). And now, knowing his charge was a Phantom Thief, he was especially vigilant when their name was dropped.

Breaking news. The leader of the Phantom Thieves was in custody.

No name, no photo, but Sojiro knew in his gut that it was Akira. He’d never mentioned being their _leader,_ but it only made sense, didn’t it? He was so quietly charming, so _magnetic._ Of course he was the leader. Futaba - did she know yet? Sojiro considered calling, but decided he would wait until the police inevitably contacted him instead. Would he even be able to afford bail? Would there _be_ bail?

“About time,” said one customer.

“Maybe it’s finally over,” said another.

“What do you think, Boss?”

Sojiro shook his head, polishing a mug with shaking hands. “Sorry,” he said, “I wasn’t listening.”

He considered closing, but how suspicious would that look? Better to wait. He felt helpless, but what could he do? He’d promised Akira that he would protect him, yet here he was, uselessly cleaning dishes while the poor boy was in _jail._ All he could do was wait for the chance to get involved.

And yet, the police did not call.

Maybe, Sojiro tried to convince himself, _maybe,_ Akira wasn’t the leader. Maybe he had been out for so long because the real one was caught, and maybe he was with the other Thieves now, trying to devise a plan. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe he was fine.

The sun began to set. Customers kept talking about the Phantom Thieves. Breaking news -

The leader had committed suicide.

It was fortunate that no one else was in the cafe when it was announced; Sojiro wouldn’t have been able to explain his sudden, shocked outburst of “ _No!_ ”. He’d almost dropped the plate he was holding, and set it down on the counter with force before shuffling over towards the TV.

Stolen a guard’s gun. Shot himself. Dead.

It had to be someone else, Akira would _never,_ he wasn’t - he couldn’t - _Akira_ -

The door opened.

Sojiro whipped around to see none other than Niijima Sae standing in the doorway, looking almost panicked; his first thought was that she’d seen the news, too.

“There you are,” she said in a rush. “I’m parked outside your house. Come with me.”

“What?” Sojiro croaked, suddenly aware of the fact that he was near tears. “What do you -”

“There’s no time,” Sae interrupted. “Please. Come with me.”

At a complete loss, Sojiro complied, flipping the sign to _closed_ as he left. He considered leaving the door unlocked, just in case Akira returned… But he knew that wouldn’t be happening. His hands were trembling as he turned the key.

Sae took long strides back towards the Sakura house, and it was a struggle to keep up with her. Her car was indeed out on the road by the house, and in the growing darkness it was hard to see through the windows, but it looked like someone was inside.

Sojiro had little time to think before Sae opened the back door. “Come on,” she said, reaching in to aid whoever was there. “Can you walk?”

If Akira was the leader, he was dead. If he wasn’t, he was fine. That was what Sojiro thought. Yet when Akira stumbled out of Sae’s car, looking like he’d been hit by a truck, everything flew out of Sojiro’s mind; the situation was clearly more complex than he could have anticipated, but none of that mattered.

_Akira was alive._

“Keep him safe,” Sae instructed as she slipped into the driver’s seat of the car.

“Wait -”

“I don’t have time to explain,” she said sharply. “Keep. Him. _Safe._ ”

As she drove away, Akira tried to lean against the wall; Sojiro stopped him by pulling him into the tightest hug he could manage. A second later, he pulled back, holding Akira gently by the shoulders; “Oh, God, I’m not hurting you, am I?”

Battered and smeared with blood, clearly exhausted and in pain, Akira began to cry. Before Sojiro could do anything, however, Akira moved forward, tucking himself up against Sojiro’s chest and weeping into his shoulder. Sojiro embraced him once more.

“Alright,” he said, gently, as he pulled back again, “let’s get you inside so I can clean you up.”

Futaba lingered nearby as Sojiro carefully cleaned Akira’s face, looking like she had a million things to say but saying none of them. When Sojiro asked her to get the futon in the spare room ready, she left without a word.

“So I can watch over you,” Sojiro explained when Akira looked at him in surprise. “I’m not making you walk back to Leblanc like this.”

Akira said little, but seemed grateful for all Sojiro was doing, regardless. He explained nothing, and Sojiro didn’t ask - the only important thing in that moment was doing as Sae had instructed, and keeping Akira _safe._ He gave the boy some of his own pajamas to sleep in, not wanting to fetch Akira’s usual loungewear from Leblanc, and made sure he was comfortable before retiring to the living room. He was too wired from everything that had occurred - sleep would be difficult.

The news continued to talk of the leader’s suicide between other reports, but didn’t tend to linger on the subject for long - as if they were trying to move past it already. Sojiro didn’t fully understand, but was somewhat grateful; the less he heard about Akira being supposedly dead, the better. Eventually he switched the news off entirely, opting instead for some mindless drama show.

Around midnight, he finally retired to his own room, where his dreams were gruesome and frightening.

The next morning, Sojiro briefly checked in on Akira; he was still asleep, clearly worn out from all he had been through. Sojiro wasn’t entirely sure why he was so roughed up, but if he really had been arrested, it was likely the fault of the police. How, then, had Sae freed him? He shook his head and left the room; there was so much he didn’t understand.

“Go open Leblanc,” Futaba told him, looking for all the world like she knew exactly what was happening. “It would be suspicious if you didn’t.”

Sojiro protested, but Futaba assured him that Akira would be fine, and they could bring him over soon. He just needed some rest. Everything would be explained when the others had gathered.

And gather they did, filing into Leblanc with both triumph and worry on their faces. Sojiro was all too eager to go and fetch Akira, praying both for an explanation and that the boy would be alright.

Akira woke with a start, briefly terrified before realizing where he was. As he calmed down, Sojiro sat down on the edge of the futon with Akira’s school uniform in his arms.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Akira sat up slowly, clearly in pain; his bruises looked better, but he had still been gravely injured. He rubbed the dark marks around his wrists for a moment, then nodded, offering Sojiro a small smile.

He wanted to ask what was going on, what had happened, why things were the way they were. He wanted to tell Akira to go back to sleep, to return to his own room and rest the day away. He wanted to feel more useful, to help more, somehow.

“I’m… glad you’re alright,” he settled on after a moment.

Akira got dressed, and Sojiro prepared to escort him back to Leblanc. Just before they left the house, however, Akira surprised him by giving him a tight hug.

“Thank you,” he murmured, his voice choked, “for everything.”

Surprised, Sojiro hesitated a moment before giving in, hugging Akira back with all the strength he could muster.

Tears in his voice as well, he said, “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

Akira laughed, and Sojiro knew everything would be okay.


End file.
